


When You Are Safe In My Arms

by ChaoticNeutral18



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: An attempt was made at pure fluff, And he blows them all away, And so is vader, But he's willing to take the first steps to, Canon was gleefully flambeed over my burning love for these disasters, Cuddles, Does Found Family count here?, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Gift Fic, He's not just going to forgive, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, I Tried, I truly tried, Kix is Done with Skywalker Banthashit, Luke and Vader Do Not Like The Cold, Luke gets to say his piece, Lullabies, Medical Inaccuracies, luke is a sunshine child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:09:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28309521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticNeutral18/pseuds/ChaoticNeutral18
Summary: Luke crashes his ship during a routine scouting for a new base. This leads to cuddles, talks, hugs, and a moderate to severe case of Hypothermia and ice burns.
Relationships: Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 154





	When You Are Safe In My Arms

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jackdaw_Kraai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackdaw_Kraai/gifts).



> Hi everyone! This fic is gifted to the absolutely incredible @Jackdaw_Kraai, who is an incredible writer and an even better friend/pseudo-sibling.  
> Seriously, If you haven't read the Guides Verse, please go do so now for your own good, you won't regret it I swear! 
> 
> Merry Christmas Jack! (And I know I promised pure fluff, I truly tried. And subsequently failed. Multiple times when trying to redraft it.)
> 
> I would also like to thank the indomitable @anemoia for beta reading this and the ever knowledgeable @cryoteeth for letting me pick their brain about prosthetics!

Luke had taken a small squad on a scouting mission to examine some planets for a new base. Clearly, High Command hadn’t learned their lesson after Hoth, because this planet, Edan II, was just as, if not more cold than Hoth had been. Luke had honestly thought that was impossible, but now he was more than willing to believe it.

He laughed bitterly to himself. Seeing, experiencing, _is_ believing as they say.

Suddenly, his ship’s magnetic shield inexplicably failed, how he had no clue. All he knew was that the button for it on his console was blinking an ominous red, and the gravitational field of the planet was mercilessly pulling him down down _down_. 

And so he had fallen, nosediving towards the ground at breakneck speed. 

Crashing brutally into the snow-covered ground, his ship broke apart on impact. Luke groaned, knowing he was going to have some _killer_ bruises later. 

He lay in pain for a few minutes, crashing a ship is never fun or gentle on the pilot, let alone the poor craft.

After a while, he gritted his teeth and pulled himself from the remnants of the cockpit, and stumbled over the scattered pieces of his ship that were strewn about the area, and looked around. Only pure white snow and a whistling wind greeted him, the lone being as far as he could see. Which, admittedly was not very far, with the wind whipping snow every which way, including into his eyes. 

He half walked, half stumbled, until he found a cave, and crawled into it with great relief. Sure, it reminded him of his...unfortunate encounter with the wampa on Hoth (it still made him shudder, even a year and a half later). 

He shivered, the cave keeping him safe from the majority of the snow, but not blocking the bone numbing cold. His prosthetic arm was beginning to freeze up, burning the skin it melded with in a paradoxical freezing-yet-flaming way. He winced. Leia would not be happy with him when he got back to the base( _And it would be a when, not an ‘If’. He wouldn’t_ let _it be an If_.)

He whimpered, the unforgiving cold seeping into his desert-born skin.

The rebels couldn’t save him now, his squad had surely flown back to base as protocol states. He couldn’t blame them, the Rebellion couldn’t risk five pilots and ships for one, no matter who he was. 

As much as he despised it, there was only one option. 

He sighed to himself, but if he wanted to make it the night, he _had_ to do this. 

For the Rebellion, for his friends and the Rogues, for Han, Leia, Chewie. He was doing this for them, no matter how paradoxical it seemed, even in his head. 

In resigned desperation, he silently called out for the only one who could help him now, his bane yet only possible savior. 

Darth Vader. 

_________

Thousands of light-years away and across the Galaxy, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Armed Forces suddenly jerked his head up, jolting all of the Crew in attendance at the weekly briefing back into awareness. It was well known by the crew that when the Sith Lord is agitated, you’d best pay attention and get the kriff out of his way, or it might just be your last day on the mortal plane.

“Admiral. Direct the navigators to plot the fastest possible course to Edan II, _Now_.” The Sith growled, though there was an undertone to the modulated voice that none had heard from him before, was that….. _worry_? 

“Yes Milord, it shall be done immediately.” Piett said in a calm tone, unflappable as always. He then walked fast out of the room (the Admiral never ran unless necessary, he _did_ have an image to uphold), comming the bridge as he left to relay Lord Vader’s orders.

Lord Vader stormed out after him, and the rest of the Crew in the room exchanged a glance and a collective sigh of relief. Yet another day on the most volatile ship in the Navy.  
_________

Luke was cold. He’d tried everything to preserve any remnants of warmth that he could, but all in vain. It had been five hours since he’d contacted his father out of desperation, and he hadn’t gotten a response. His prosthesis had completely frozen, the skin above it discolored and injured from the ice burns. 

Suddenly, though he was weak from using the Force to conserve heat, he heard a peculiar sound, utterly different from his own whimpers and the demented whistling of the biting wind that had been all he’d known these past hours. 

He strained his ears, hoping against hope it was someone come to rescue him, and- 

_Was that…._

Luke heard it, faintly at first, then it began to grow in noise. 

_Kishhhhh koshhhhh. Kishhhh koshhhh. Kishhhhh koshhhh._

**In. Out.**

**In. Out.**

**In. Out.**

For any other rebel, any other Jedi, this sound would spell certain doom. For Luke, this once dreaded sound was cause for minor celebration. 

Funny how desperation can change one’s perspective on things.   
__________

Vader growled in frustration. His son _needed_ him, and he was still so far away. 

He failed, harmed him once. He would not fail him again. 

It had been nearly a standard cycle and a half since he had confronted his child at Bespin, since he had revealed the truth to Luke, dueled him, and maimed him, though not necessarily in that order. 

Vader had gone over that fateful, tragic day hundreds of times in his head since then, and came to the painful realization that he was the one in the wrong, that even though he had done _everything_ for his family, for Padme and their unborn child that he thought had died with her. He had failed, betraying everything and everyone he held dear. 

_Luke_. He savored the name, rolled it over the remnants of his tongue countless times. _Luke_. It meant ‘Light’ in Padme’s mother tongue, and ‘The Free’ in the Children’s secret dialect. 

_Oh Padme_ , Vader thought wistfully, _you always knew best didn’t you_. 

His reminiscing was cut off by a beep from his wrist comm. He accepted the call, and a four inch tall Admiral Piett appeared. 

“Milord, we are approaching Edan II, and will exit hyperspace in fifteen minutes. Should I ready the troops?” 

“No Admiral, I shall deal with this alone. But have a Medical team on standby when I return.”

“Yes Milord. It shall be done. I’ll have your ship readied for departure by the time we exit hyperspace.”

Vader nodded. “I shall be in the Hangar at that time. Make sure it is fully prepped by then.”

“It will be done Milord. Piett out.”

The Admiral’s image flickered out of existence, and Vader let out a breath he’d been holding for hours. 

_I’m coming for you Luke._

_________

The next thing Luke knew, the snow that had accumulated on him when he was too tired to brush off was being gently wiped off by a black glove.

He was then picked up with more gentleness then he had ever thought those hands were capable of. Looking up into the emotionless mask of his savior, he breathed out “ _Father_.”

“ _Luke_ ”, the vocoder rumbled, with an undertone of care and worry he didn’t think possible from the unforgiving machinery. 

“Thanks for coming to get me. When I didn’t hear anything I thought I was going to….”

“I will _never_ abandon you again. I wasn’t there for the first twenty-two years of your life, and then when we first truly met, I made one of the worst mistakes of my life. I failed you once. I will never again do so. I am taking you with me, at least for now.”

“But-”

Vader sighed, “As I was saying, I am taking you on board my ship for now at least. You cannot deny that you are in serious need of medical attention.”

Luke winced as Vader lightly touched his frozen prosthesis, hissing in pain. “I _hate_ the cold.”

“As do I, unfortunately Skywalkers are meant for the warmth of the Suns.” Vader boomed in a distinctly amused tone. 

The Sith sobered quickly, taking in Luke’s flushed appearance, frozen arm, and constant shivering. In his joy of having a pleasant conversation with his son, he had completely forgotten the entire reason for it. 

Working quickly, he unlatched his cloak and wrapped it tightly around his shivering _small_ (had he always been that tiny?) son, grimacing behind the mask when he noticed his shallow, slow breathing. He began walking extremely fast, nearly running to his ship, but being careful all the while not to jostle his precious bundle.

Luke curled farther into the mantle, and further into his father’s warmth as a result. In usual circumstances, Vader would relish this moment, but he had no time to do so at the moment. 

“Little one, I _need_ you to keep your eyes open, I know it’s not the most comfortable and I know you’re tired, but _please_ stay awake.” 

(It had been far too long since he had begged for anything, and the vocoder tripped over some of the words, as if not used to urgency.)

“But I don’ wannaaaa” Luke whined quietly. “‘M tired, and you’re so _warm_ and so _comfy_.”

“Please little one, _please_. Your Princess and Rebellion wouldn’t be happy if you died, please.”

“Leia’s not _my_ princess. She’s more like a sister. Tha’s just _gross_. An’ she’s Han’s Princess anyways.”

“Little one, if you can just stay awake for ten more minutes, I swear to you that I’ll get your smuggler back, _just stay awake_.”

Luke grunted to show that he’d heard, and made a valiant effort to do so, the strain showing in the force. 

But unfortunately it was not enough, with Luke drifting into unconsciousness three minutes away from the ship, to his father’s endless pleas.  
_________

Waking with a gasp, Luke sat up in an unfamiliar bed in a familiar yet recognizable room. Apparently medbays _do_ look the same everywhere. He looked around, seeing more beds and medical machinery surrounding him. Looking down, he saw multiple IVs inserted into his flesh arm, and his mechanical arm detached but next to him on the bed, having obviously been repaired and cleaned. At the foot of his bed was the most unlikely sight. Darth Vader was seated in a chair next to it and doing work on a datapad, looking for all the galaxy a tired family man. 

“Luke!” Vader’ head snapped up once he felt that his son was finally conscious.

“Hello Father.” Luke smiled lopsidedly, the last vestiges of sleep still being shaken off. 

“ _Never do that again_. You have been unconscious for the last twelve hours.” 

“And he’s been sitting there like a worried mother hen the entire time.” A Clone Medic cut in as he entered the room. 

Luke tensed, waiting for the Medic to be subjected to the infamous force choke. Vader on the other hand just sighed in resignation. 

The Medic came to the side of Luke’s bed, and introduced himself. “Hello Luke, I am Chief Medical Officer Kix, of the _Executor_. You got a nasty case of hypothermia, and would have surely perished if your father hadn’t gotten to you when he did.”

Luke was stunned. “How do you know-”

“Because I was also the medic for your father’s company during the Clone Wars. I’ve been dealing with you di’kut Skywalkers for over 20 years.”

“.....That makes sense?”

Kix sighed. “I’m going to record your vitals, and send in some broth for you to eat, and then I’m going to leave the two of you alone for a few hours, I do have more patients to tend to and despite his own poor history of staying in Medical, I have complete trust that he will take good care of you for the time being.”

Vader, who had been silent all this time, stood up. “Thank you Kix.”

Kix nodded. “Sir.”, and left, information having been collected. The door slid shut behind him, and Vader turned to Luke.

“Little one, please never do that again. …..I have not felt true terror since before you were born, and yet you reawakened emotions I didn’t think I still had.”

Luke rolled his eyes, “I’m pretty sure that’s normal Father. That’s what kids are supposed to do.” In a quieter, more hesitant tone, he continued “thank you for coming to get me. Thank you for saving me.”

Vader sighed heavily, the vocoder scrambling it.

“I will _always_ come for you, my son. Contrary to what my regrettable actions at Bespin may have suggested, I do not want to hurt you. I did, and I can never forgive myself for that.”

Luke looked up at his eyes on the mask. “You seriously hurt me and traumatized me. I had nightmares for months, and was severely sleep deprived because of them. My friends literally had to drug my caf so I would sleep.”

“I’m truly sorr-”

Luke cut him off. “I had to reconcile the fact that the father I had wanted all my life, that I had looked up to, was a mass murderer and had ruined so many lives. I had to reconcile the Anakin Skywalker I had heard so many awe-filled stories about with Darth Vader, the boogeyman of the Rebellion, the scourge of so many planets and peoples. I had to go through my days, knowing that _my father_ was responsible for the suffering of so many, for the suffering and pain of my friends and squadron. A ‘Sorry’ won’t cut it. Not for them, not for the Galaxy.”

He sighed, looking more tired than he should be at his age. “A ‘sorry’ won’t cut it, but it’s the start. You have to show that you actually mean it, give reparations, help truly make the galaxy a better place, not one of suffering and corruption and tyrannical despots.”

At this, he hesitantly looked up at his father. Vader bowed his head in recognition. “I know. I know my son, I know. And I am ready to begin that journey.”

At this, Luke _beamed_ with all the light and brilliance of a thousand Suns. He launched himself at his father, who caught him in his arms with an ‘oomph’. 

“I knew you still had good in you.” He mumbled into the armorweave. 

Vader’s breath hitched for a moment, and then he relaxed, tentatively putting his arms around Luke as well. They stayed there for a few minutes, until a droid came in, carrying the soup. 

Parting slowly, Luke had his broth, while Vader sat back down to do some more work, but he kept an eye on his child the entire time, reminding him multiple times to sip it ‘ _slower Luke, slower_ ’, much to Luke’s chagrin. 

Finishing his soup and carefully setting the bowl aside, he fluffed his pillow and put it behind him. Looking up pleadingly at his father, he asked “Come sit next to me? You’re comfy.” 

Allowing Luke this moment of childishness (And kriff, if he figured out a way to weaponize those baby tooka eyes the galaxy would be doomed), and himself the moment of vulnerability, he easily complied. 

The bed groaned under his weight, but neither of them cared. They finally had the family they had dreamed of. 

Once Vader was situated on the bed, Luke wasted no time in curling up into his side, head resting on the Sith’s chestplate. Vader used the force to pull the covers over them, and rested his gloved hand softly on his son’s back, rubbing gentle circles. As his son drifted off to sleep, safe in his father’s arms, Vader began to hum a tatooinian lullaby his mother had sung to him, and one he had always wished to sing to his own children. 

_Hush my child, sleep for you are safe here  
The suns shall always Guide your way  
Hush my Sun, for I will always be there  
Sleep now my son, for no Master can get you  
When you are safe in my arms  
So sleep now my son, and I will protect you…._

Luke’s breaths had now steadied out, a soft rhythm that calmed Vader like nothing else. He looked down at his Sun, and lightly ran his covered fingers through the soft, feathery hair. “I love you my child….”

Luke blinked blearily up at him for a moment, and smiled sleepily before succumbing once again to the realm of sleep. “Love you too father.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the story! 
> 
> For those of you who celebrate Christmas, merry Christmas, and to those of us who don't like me, have a good friday! (If you're Jewish and fasting today for the fast of Tevet 10, stay safe and do what you can!)
> 
> If you want to ask any questions or just chat, my tumblr is @youngcreativenerdgoddess
> 
> Stay safe and wear a mask everyone!


End file.
